فصل 9

CHAPTER NINE

THE MAGIC OF AGREEMENT

ALWAYS AGREE WITH THE CUSTOMER

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS agree with the customer.

This is the single most important and the most commonly violated rule in all of selling! If you want agreement, you’ve got to be agreeable with your customers.

This vital rule must not be confused with the old saying, “The customer is always right,” because customers aren’t always right. If you’ve ever been with one, you know what I’m talking about. The point is, right or wrong, agree with the customer. Agree as you write the deal; don’t disagree and fight the deal!

You can never expect someone to agree with you if you’re disagreeing with him. It will almost never happen. People are attracted to products, ideas, and people that represent the things with which they’re in agreement. This is a fact of the universe! Your friends are those people who most agree with your core beliefs. Your favorite family members are the people you want to spend your time with during the holidays. These are the people in your life with whom you’ve got the most agreement. People who agree with one another move toward one another, whereas people who disagree move apart. The common saying that “opposites attract” doesn’t happen to be true in sales. In selling, likes attract, and like is born out of agreement. I like you because I agree with you at some level.

IT ONLY TAKES ONE

When there’s not enough agreement between two parties, there’s no agreement at all. This is the reason that partnerships fail, marriages break up, and you don’t have more customers buying from you. Most people think that it takes two to have an agreement. But the truth is, it only takes one to agree, because once one opposing party agrees, there is no longer any disagreement. The salesperson who wants agreement must give agreement to the customer before agreement can be achieved. Even when a buyer is making ridiculous claims or exaggerations, agree with him. Just because you think what he’s saying is ridiculous doesn’t mean he thinks it’s ridiculous. If he thinks something is black and you think it’s white, you’re both right. However, if he thinks something is black and you want to get the sale, you’d better agree with his reality that it’s black. If he thinks he should wait and think about it and you disagree with him, you’ll solidify his need to wait and never get him to close. However, if you simply agree with him that thinking about it is a good idea and let him know that you agree, he’ll be more attracted to you and move toward you, not away from you. Once you’ve agreed with him, you can go ahead and explain that thinking will not change the fact that this is the right product, that he can afford the product, that his company will save money because of the product, and that by making a decision to buy it now he can shift his attention to all the other things he has to think about. Agree with him first, and that will bring him up to another way of thinking.

I wanted to add a fourth dog to our family and my wife was dead set against the idea. The first thing I did was agree with her. “You’re right, honey. The last thing we need is another Great Dane.” With a raised eyebrow, she asked, “You agree with me?”

“Absolutely I agree,” I professed. “You’re right. There’s no sense in us having four dogs.”

That was the moment when she looked at the picture of the puppy and a little smile crossed her lips. “He is so cute.”

Done! Dog number four is in the house! Do you get it? Agree, acknowledge, make the other party right, and then close the deal.

There is no single rule that salespeople violate more than this one, and it happens to be the number one rule in selling any product. AGREEING is THE ROAD TO MORE SALES! This needs to be drilled and practiced because people are inclined to disagree in order to satisfy their gluttonous craving to be right.

THE AGREEMENT CHALLENGE

You have to really practice this, and it’s best if you practice with a friend, family member, or work associate. You can even record different scenarios on a digital recorder and practice handling them whereby you agree first, then handle.

This is the drill: Try to agree with everyone you talk to for a single day. Try this around the house, as you’re given endless opportunities every day to do the exact opposite of what I’m asking you to do in this drill. I’ll bet you can’t even make it through one day without violating this very vital and basic rule of selling. Try it! If you find yourself disagreeing outwardly with any person, then start over and keep at it until you can get through a whole day agreeing with everyone.

I know people who started this exercise at 8:00 a.m. and by 8:30 a.m. had already failed.

Your kid says he doesn’t want to go to school today. Handle him by agreeing first. “I understand what you’re saying because I didn’t want to go to school on Fridays either. Now get dressed, my little buddy, and let’s get to school.” Your husband wants to go see a new action movie, but you’d rather go out for a romantic dinner. Agree first. “You’re right. It’s a great night for a movie. Why don’t we go down to that new café first and get a bite to eat?” Once you’ve agreed, it’s possible to suggest alternatives that are more suitable for you. Now that you’re at the café, you’ll either learn to sell him on something else or you’ll have to go to the action movie. Either way you are going to spend time with your spouse, and so both of you win.

A client tells you, “It’s too much money.” Now it’s for real! “I agree it’s a lot of money. Everyone who invests in this product agrees that this system is a big investment when they’re buying it. That’s why you should get it installed so it can start making you money right away.” “A new roof is a lot of money,” the customer objects. “I agree it’s a lot of money,” you reply. “Your new roof is going to last for thirty years and there won’t be any more leaks or costly repairs. You will have to do it sooner or later, so let’s get it done now.” “The bedrooms are too small,” the buyer says. “You’re right,” you agree. “That’s one of the first things I noticed, too. What do you think can be done about it?” Agree and then offer the buyer an opportunity to find the solution before you offer one to find out how much of an objection it actually is.

“We never make a rash decision!” the customer says. “And I agree with you,” you say. “To make a rash decision would be the wrong thing to do, and I wouldn’t want you to do that. However, you have been thinking about upgrading for some time now. You’ve used the same computer system for ten years and it’s time to update it. If you would have done it nine years ago, it would have been rash, but now it just makes sense.” Agreeing with the customer is senior to all other rules in selling! Agreement is even senior to closing the deal. I can’t believe I’m saying that because I see the close as something SACRED. However, if you disagree with someone before the close, you risk never getting to the point where you can close. Show me the top 1 percent of all salespeople in any industry and I’ll show you people who are masters at agreeing with their customers first and closing them later on what they wanted all along.

Salespeople are constantly trying to sell and negotiate by disagreement. This is no different than trying to swim against the current. In most cases the person doesn’t drown from water in his lungs, he drowns because he’s exhausted from fighting against the water itself. Most salespeople drown in the negotiations from the exhaustion of trying to overcome every objection. Start the sale from a position of agreement, continue to agree, make the buyer right—close later.

You’re right! I’m with you! I agree! Let me see what I can do for you! I understand! I will make that happen! Done!

Regardless of how off-key or incorrect the buyer may be, it’s critical that the relationship is built on agreement if you want to make the sale.

Some people will say that agreeing when you don’t really agree is manipulation. While I’m willing to agree with them that they see it as manipulation, I see agreeing as my attempt to get along. I think that disagreeing with people manipulates you out of a sale, and that doesn’t make sense. If you say it’s hot and I think it’s cold, I’m able to agree with your viewpoint that you think it’s hot. What have I lost? I’m simply acknowledging that you think it’s hot. This is not manipulation; it’s understanding. You didn’t ask me what I thought. All I did was agree with your reality without adding that I think it’s cold, which would only serve to make you wrong. By establishing basic agreement, you’re creating the opportunity to help the buyer purchase your product or service. If the buyer never gets a chance to see what you’re offering because of an earlier disagreement, then know that you’ve made an error by not allowing the buyer to see your product or service in the proper light. All you’ve done is put their focus on the disagreement rather than on your product.

HOW TO SOFTEN ANY BUYER

Let’s say a customer tells you he’s only got ten minutes and you know you can’t do your presentation in ten minutes. I’ve watched salespeople spend ten minutes talking about how they can’t do the presentation that quickly. A better alternative is to agree that ten minutes would be fine and go right into your presentation. If you start the relationship off with agreement, you’ll have a chance to tell the prospect about your product. Additionally, you’ll come across to the customer as understanding, easy to deal with, and professional.

I’ve been in hundreds of selling situations where the entire process started off with the buyer limiting the amount of time I had. I love this because I immediately tell them the time they offered me is more than enough. By the customer’s response, you’d think I’d just stepped into a phone booth then flown out with a cape on. The buyer looks at me like I am SUPER SALESPERSON and immediately knows he’s dealing with a professional. Customers respected me because of the fact that I agreed with them, not because I was slick at handling their objections. What created this response or change in the buyers? It wasn’t some tricky, manipulative line. It was because I agreed to their limitations and I was willing to work with the amount of time they’d offered me. I showed them my appreciation instead of voicing disagreement. I’d rather have ten minutes than no minutes! By first agreeing with them, you can then move on with your presentation. Nothing will soften a buyer more than an agreeable salesperson.

THE MAGIC WORDS

Regardless of whether the customer is right or wrong, you need to make it safe for him to be right so he doesn’t get so stuck in his “rightness” that he’s unable to change his mind.

If you want people to agree with your viewpoint, all you’ve got to do is agree with their position, agree with their opinions, and step into their shoes for a moment.

If you want to keep an argument going with someone, tell them that they’re wrong. If you want to keep a raving maniac going on and on about how right he is, just disagree with him. If you want to get him to shut up, agree with him, and he’ll stop behaving like a raving maniac.

There’s no easier way to instantly end an argument than by agreeing with the opposition. A friend of mine who’d been married for seventeen years said that the magic formula to her relationship was telling her husband, “You’re right.” Who can argue with that? By ending silly arguments, one can move on and enjoy the important things in life.

Customer service problems can be handled the same way. When you get a complaint, go ahead and agree with the complaint. “You guys screwed everything up!” the customer shouts. “I agree with you, sir,” you say. “Let me figure out how to correct it for you.” But if you tell him he’s wrong, you’re only adding gasoline to his fire of disagreements.

You’ve probably experienced this phenomenon in your life. As an exercise, try it with your spouse or a friend. Wait until they say something and then tell them they’re wrong. Watch what happens. You’ve just fueled an argument. To end the argument, tell them they’re right! By agreeing, you cool off and put out the fire of disagreement. End of argument!

I once told a salesperson that I wanted to pay cash for the product, at which time he said, “You don’t want to pay cash for it; you should finance it.” His response created a block to my power of decision and lessened my enthusiasm for continuing to do business with him. By disagreeing with me, the salesperson created a barrier to what should have been an easy sale. He could have simply said, “Cash would be great, sir.” Then, as he was taking my cash, he could have shown me both the cash price and the alternative if I financed, at which point I would have at least considered the alternative as a choice, not a “make wrong.” Agreement is the fastest route to getting your way! Do yourself a favor and practice agreeing with people. Three of the most powerful words in the English language are “YOU ARE RIGHT!” Two other powerful words in the English language are “I AGREE!” Agreeing with the customer means control for the salesperson, happier customers, and quicker decisions. Miracles take place out of agreement.